Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF
$17.02−0.06 (−0.35%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.97%
- Fund size
- $123M
- 1Y return
- +2.9%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 8.32%
- Holdings
- 23
- Volume · 30D
- 0M sh
- NAV per share
- $17.07
- 52W range
The ETF.net FIAX Grade
Score 35 of 100 sits in the D band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.
Cost
What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.FScore 16Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.Not scoredRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.CScore 48Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.CScore 44Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.BScore 58Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.CScore 49Category rank
Our read on FIAX
DMost options-income funds write calls on stocks. FIAX holds short-term U.S. Treasuries and runs a defined-risk options overlay on ETFs and indexes for the income, then measures itself against the Agg. A bond-shaped wrapper around an options engine.
The Fund seeks current income through short-term U.S. Treasury fixed income securities combined with a defined-risk option premium strategy using options on ETFs and securities indices.
Why people hold it
- The income engine is options, not coupons: short-term Treasury holdings paired with a defined-risk option premium strategy on ETFs and securities indexes.
- The Treasury sleeve is short-term, so interest-rate sensitivity sits far below the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index it benchmarks against.
- Distributions are paid monthly, and the fund has been running live since its 2022 launch.
Worth knowing
- The 0.97% expense ratio sits at the pricier end of the options-income group, where index-overlay peers like LQDW charge 0.34%.
- It trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads are typically wider than the heavily traded names in its category and order execution carries more weight.
- The options overlay is actively managed rather than a mechanical index formula, so outcomes depend on the manager's positioning, not a published rulebook.
FIAX Holdings
- Bonds
- 23
- 100%
- United States Treasury Note/Bond 4.625% 10/15/2026
Sectors
FIAX Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | FIAX |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +1.0% |
| 1 month | −0.8% |
| 3 months | −0.1% |
| 1 year | +2.9% |
| 3 years | +3.1% |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FIAX |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +1.0% | |
| 2025 | +2.3% | |
| 2024 | +4.7% | |
| 2023 | +3.5% | |
| 2022 | −0.3% |
FIAX in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on FIAX yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
FIAX Dividends
- 8.32%
- $1.42
- $0.11 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2026 | Sep 18, 2026 | $0.11 |
| Aug 20, 2026 | Aug 21, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Jul 16, 2026 | Jul 17, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Jun 18, 2026 | Jun 22, 2026 | $0.12 |
| May 21, 2026 | May 22, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Apr 16, 2026 | Apr 17, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Mar 19, 2026 | Mar 20, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Feb 19, 2026 | Feb 20, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Jan 15, 2026 | Jan 16, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Dec 18, 2025 | Dec 19, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Nov 20, 2025 | Nov 21, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Oct 16, 2025 | Oct 17, 2025 | $0.12 |
FIAX Risk
- 3.9%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.43
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −6.3%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.42
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FIAX Cost
- The middle half of Treasury Option Income funds
- Median 0.65%
10 of the 13 Treasury Option Income funds charge less.